Coating confectionery and the like



Nov. 26, 1929.

G. R. BAKER ET AL COATING CONFEGTIONERY AND THE LIKE File arc 192 2 Sheets-Sheet 650/?65 'RALPHBAKER,

JZMEs MswnveTo/v Ep s,

Gav/Pas mL/AM PEEKS.

Nov. 26, 1929. G. R. BAKER ET-AL 1,737,447

COATING CONFECTIONERY AND THE LIKE File M r 1.927 2 Sheets-rSheet- 2 650w: 544w BA ER, Jf/VE Maw/Mm Ea s,

GEORGE Mum/v fiwrrsw Patented Nov. 2 6, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT OF'FICEI,

GEORGE RALPH BAKER, OF LONDON, AND JAMES WASHINGTON EPPS, OF WARLINGHAM, AND GEORGE WILLIAM PERKS, OI SOUTHPORT, ENGLAND, ASSIGNORS TO BAKER PERKINS COMPANY INCORPORATED, OF NEW YORK, N, Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK ooa'rmo CONFECTIONERY AND THE LIKE Application filed march 30, 1927, Serial No. 179,662, and in Great Britain March 31, 1926.

-This invention relates to the coating of confectionery and the like with chocolate or similar coatiii'g substancein which the goods 5 -or centresto be coated are conveyedin moyeinent through a coating substance (hereinafter for sake of brevity referred to as chocolate) suitably in the form of a descending curtain or stream whereby the said goods are coated, the coating'substance being then al lowed to'set'or solidify for instance on a separate band, plaque or equivalent to which the coated confections are transferred, or this setting or solidifying may take place on the same conveyor-as-that on which they the confections are passed through the stream of coating substance. u

The objectof the invention is to so apply the chocolate'coating to the goods or centres that the resulting goods have a more brilliant gloss or lustre. than is produced by previouspiocesses of 'the'above type, and with this Ob ect in view, according to'the invention, the chocolate issuing as from a mixing, flooding or delivery vessel or other'container or equivalent is so delivered that a grained or partially crystallized portion thereof is caused to form the outside stratum or surface portion or layer of the coating, the remainder of the coatthat it takes place from the exterior inwards,

thus ensuring a brilliant glossy surface when 40 set.

illustrated in the accompanying drawings such forms.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view of one form of the improved apparatus partly in section.

Fig. 2 is a similar view of a modification.

ing being in ungrained condition. This is ef- I Five different forms of apparatus for carrying out the method of the invention are which show diagrammatic sectional views of similar. manner a yet of a weir a over which the chocolate passes to a delivery vessel 5 jacketed for a heating medium as at b and containing a vibrator in the form of a series of inclined plates b. This vibrator, however, is not operated violently but, on the contrary, has a'slow'niotion, and does not'reach to the bottom of the vessel or even nearto it, so that, at any rate near the outletof said vessel, the chocolate .is not disturbed sufficiently to prevent that part which is in contact with the cooled side of the vessel from becoming cooler than the remainder. The curtain or stream of chocolate as it: issues from the outlet of the delivery or flooding vessel 6 is in the form of two distinct or separate surface layers or strata, that is to say, one stratum w is grained or in a state of partial crystallizationproduced by chilling in the flooding vessel as by means of a cooling medium in jacket a and the other stratum or portion y is in an ungrained or non-crystallized condition which may be effected by heating or tempering one wall of the delivery vessel 7) as by means of the medium in jacket 6 or by heating certain of the plates or equivalent 6 over which the'chocolatepasses from the flooding vessel to the goods. Thus the curtain or stream will issue in surface layers or strata of two different temperatures or of grained and. ungrained character. This result ,can also be produced, if the'chocolate is initially all in ungrained condition, by chilling one side of the curtain erstream as hereinafter explained. In either case the'good's' g are .tion is chilled so that crystallization is passed, as on a conveyor h, throu h the curtain or stream of'chocolate in suc direction or manner as indicated by the arrow 2 that the cooler or grained portion :2: forms the 'means are provided to ensure that all the chocolate fed to the flooding mechanism is in such condition. During flooding a surface stratum or layer of the issuing curtain or stream of chocolate which will form the .exterior surface of the finished coated confecstarted in this portion.

Floodin mechanism may be used for this method w ich comprises, a trough or container c suitably jacketed as at 0 or otherwise constructed so tliat a warm tempering medium or fluid can be circulated around it to prevent chilling or premature setting or graining of the contents, and the molten chocolate, at. for example a temperature of 345 C. or over, or which may have been tempered down from 345 C. to a lower temperature which is sufliciently hlgh to retain it in a molten condition, is caused or permitted to pass from the container, for instance, through a slit or opening 0 thereln, but so that the surface stratum or layer a: of the issuing curtain of chocolate is grained, this grained stratum, as above mentioned, being that which will form the exterior sur face ofthe finished coated confections passing along below the container in the direction of the arrow.

- The of the surface stratum of thechocolate curtain may be efl'ected in various ways, a suitable arrangement being the provision of one or more pipes c or a jacket or surface attached to or in close proximity to the flooding ve$el or container and located adjacent to one side of the discharge slit or opening 0 and through, in or on which pipe,

jacket or surface'a cooling medium, such as water or cool air, is circulated or applied to cool the wall a of the container-immediately adjacent one of said discharge opening 0. The cooled container wall becomes coated with solidified chocolate as at w and the molten chocolate flowing through the opening has the surface portion, stratum or layer a grained and artially chilled by contact with said solided chocolate as it passes over the latter. All other parts of the flowing chocolate remain molten since the remaining parts of the container walls are warmed bv the medium in jacket 0 or by other suitable means. i v v Another means of chilling the surface 1 stratum or layer of chocolate is shown in Fig.

3 and consists in'providing one side of the discharge opening at of a jacketed container d with a cooled revolving roller 03, or a pair of rollers d d may be used as shown, one d? being warmed and the other d cooled as by being made hollow for reception of the respective warming and cooling medium, the flowing curtain of chocolate passing between said rollers as shown so that the grained portion :1: forms the exterior surface of the coated confection,

The chocolate may be removed from the rollers as by a pair of scrapers shown at d suitably arranged to form a funnel;

Another method is illustrated in Fig. 4

wherein, in place of the cooled pipe or jacket adjacent the dischar e opening as in Fig. 2, a

jet of cool air may e caused to impinge on the surface of the curtain of chocolate flowing from a jacketed container e as by means of a pipe e and nozzle 6 In any or all of the above methods the molten chocolate not picked up by the centres 9 "being coated falls through the conveyor h carrying the centersinto or onto a heated tray or other container and may be finally elevated,

as by pumping, to be again fed to the flooding trough. is subjected to means whereby the wholeof the chocolate is reconditioned, preferabl by being heated to a temperature slightly at ove melting point, for example 345 (1, and then if desired tempered down to thetemperature.

required for coating goods, but this must he done without graining the chocolate, or in other words the reconditioning operation should degrain the chocolate. vThe chocolate falling through the conveyor may contain solid or semi-solid lumps such as would fall' .passes from the latter between a pair of heat:

ed, closely set revolving rollers f f which may, if desired, be rotated at difl'erent speeds. Scrapers f" for the rollers are shown as attached to the wall of the trough f. The said rollers will press out the lumps and ensure that the whole of the chocolate will pass be- I tween them in molten condition. Other Ways of attaining the same object are to pass the lumpy chocolate into- .a heated collecting trough, or to feed or pump it through a strainer which will retainthe lumps until the hot; chocolate flowing past causes them to me t.

The chocolate from between the rollers f f passes intoa jacketed trough F from which it may be elevated by any convenient pumping mechanism, preferably jacketed, to prevent chilling, a preferred or mlitable elevating But before 'it reaches the latter it 1 means comprising a revolving worm or screw elevator f* shown as having an inclined axis and working within a pipe or tube 7 in which the worm fits. The said pipe or tube is suitably jacketed as at f to receive a heating medium to bring the chocolate to the desired hopper f in which it may be stirred and main tained at or brought to the temperature required for coating.

It may be desirable to cool down the chocolate to bring it to the correct temperature for applying to the goods, either by passing a cooling medium through the elevating worm jacket f or through one of the other tempermg jackets in the machine- If such coolin is effected rapidly the effect of the cooled jac et may be to produce a considerable amount of graining throughout the mass of chocolate. In order to remelt such grained chocolate and to ensure that there is substantially no graining in the chocolate 'fed to the flooding vessel 0 it may be desirable to again pass the chocolate through one or more pairs of heated revolving rollers f or other equivalent in hopper f and from which it passes direct to the flooding vessel, two scrapers being shown at f co-operating with said rollers to conduct the chocolate in two streams.

In both'methods last described it is also desirable to rapidly tap or vibrate the container or distributing vessel 0, or its equivalent, as

the case may be, and such vibration may suit-; ably be effected as by means of mounting the container on a pivoted bar or bars j the free end of which is hooked to engage a rotatable ratchet or toothed wheel 7' or by other suitable means. late to flow more readily, and the grained chocolate to break away and spread evenly into the surface layer of the curtain; also it re.- moves imprisoned'air from the chocolate and improves the quality of the resultant goods,

besides assistin'g' in obtaining a uniform condition of the coating on the goods, whereas if such vibration is not usedthe'glossy surface of the finished goods may be streaky or broken. I

In all the methods described, the centres or goods to be coated must be sufficiently warm to prevent the chocolate coating setting from within outwards, that is to say the centres should be of approximately the same temperature as is the interior stratum or layer of the coating; also the temperature of the room or place in which the coating operation takes place and that of the place in which the goods are kept while the covering of chocolate solidl- This vibration causes the choco- I fies must be such that the grained surface layer or stratum controls the solidification of the chocolate covering so that it takes place commencing with the grained exterior layer or stratum and setting from the outside inwards. 1

The above described methods may be used .in the multiple coating of confectionery, that is to saywhere the confections are given a plurality of coatings. In such case it is only necessary to apply the final coating b the method of the present invention in or er to obtain the desired exteriorgloss or lustre.

lVhat we claim as our invention and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is I i 1. A method of coating confectionery and like goods, consisting in de ositing on the goods a curtain of coatin substance one surface of which has been'su jected to a positive cooling action before the curtain reaches the goods, to form a definite external stratum of such curtain in partly crystallized or grained condition, while keeping the goods themselves at a higher temperature than such stratum.

tum of such curtain in partly crystallized or grained condition, while keeping the temperatures of the internal stratum of the curtain and of the oods themselves approximates ly e ual and hlgher than the-temperature of said external stratum;

3. A method of coating confectioneryand like goods, conslsting in depositing on the goods a curtain of coating substance, and

chilling one surface of the curtain before it reaches the goods so as to form a definite external'stratum' of such curtain in partly crystallized or grained. condition.

4. A method of coating confectionery and like goods, consisting in passing the goods under-a descending curtain of coating sub stance comprising a partly crystallized or grained portion and a non-crystallized or ungrained portion, in such a way that the grained portionforms the external surface of the coatingwhen applied to the goods.

5. A method of coating confectionery and I i like goods, consisting in passing the goods under a descending curtain of coating substance comprising definite strata of different.

temperatures, the stratumof lower temperature forming the external surface of the coating when applied-to the goods.

6. A method of coating confectionery-and like goods, consisting in passing the goods under a descending curtain of coating sub- V stance, and chilling one suiface'of the curtain before it reaches the goods-so as to form;

a definite external stratum of;such curtain in partly crystallized or g1 ained condition.

I. A method of coating confectionerg and like goods, consisting-in bringing two ifier entportions of the coating substance to different temperatures, discharging the two rtions in a single descending curtain in w ich said portions constitute different definite strata, and passing the goods under said'descending curtain in such a way that the cooler stratum forms the external surface of the coat-- ing when applied.

8. A method of coating confectionery and like goods, consisting in passing the goods under a descending curtaln of coating substance to form a coating thereon, and treatlngone surface of the curtain to produce a definite external stratum of the coating in part- 1y crystallized or grained conditlon.

In witness whereof we have signed this specification.

GEORGE RALPH BAKER. JAMES WASHINGTON EPPS. GEORGE WILLIAM PERKS. 

